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dave17352's avatar
dave17352
Explorer II
Apr 06, 2016

Don't forget to re torque those lug nuts!

My 30 year old nephew came over the other night to borrow some fishing gear. He showed me the damage to his pride and joy 2011 lifted chevy truck. He had new rims and tires put on at a local shop. They were aluminum black fancy ones for his off road tires. Of course they told him to re torque them at 400 miles. Well he said he thought ya right who does that! Well as he was turning he felt some wobble and a few moments later his front passenger tire flew off. When it came off it wrecked the quarter panel and the passenger door won't open. I bet 3k worth of damage. He said he had been on the interstate about 20 minutes earlier going about 80 miles an hour. He was thinking about the fact that he probably would have been killed if it had happened then.

He called the shop and of course they asked him if he had re torqued them and all he could say was no and of course they would no be able to do anything for him. I like most people thought that the re torque thing was just a cya statement until a couple of years ago. Then I read about someone else that had a tire fly off. I bought a torque wrench and torqued my wheels on my pick up and sure enough they all needed some tightening. It was just about a year a go when a guy that works for me got back from a 350 mile trip to find there was only one lug nut holding his rear tire on.

So re torque those lug nuts now and then!:E

30 Replies

  • Aluminum rims are notorious for that. I would check the lugs on our TT (steel rims) every morning before hitting the road and sure enough, there were a few loose lug nuts every time. Too many lives and too much money are at stake not to take 2 minutes to check something so simple.

    Mike
  • I carry a torque wrench with me and check them quite often. Maybe not every outing but certainly every 2nd or 3rd. I always check mine before a long trip and usually once or twice during.
    It only takes a few minutes and can save someone's life.
  • My truck come with nut indicators that visually will show when a nut turns a bit.
    I never had to retorque wheels on car, but had equipment trailer with donut wheels (used on mobilhomes). Those needed recheck every few days.
  • Also you need to scrape the mating surfaces of the wheels since corrosion and build up will get pinched between when torqueing the lugs. Eliminating any build up with a scraper helps maintain the torque and not go loose.

    This info is from Alcoa wheel therefore any alloy wheel will acquire build up eventually.
  • I generally check all mine once a month and always before any long road trip. When I was running the SRW with 19.5 Vision rims I had to buy a heavy duty torque wrench that could hit the required 250 ft pounds.
  • It happens a lot more than you think . Even if you catch it before the wheel comes off it usually ruins the wheel . I was having that problem with my DRW coming loose , till I discovered that the rears on DRW GM's are suppose to be 175 fp and not 140 fp like the front or SRW . Most tire shops recommend the first check at less than 100 miles any time the wheel come off .
  • Same with that sticker on your lawn mower that says "allow engine to cool before refueling." I've got a bud who burned down his garden shed along with a mower . . . .
  • I usually check mine 3 times a year... Begining of the season... Right before our 2 week trip which is mid season... And at the end... It really only takes a few minutes...